CAT 2010 duration to be increased

NEW DELHI: The Common Admission Test (CAT) for admission to the Indian Institutes of Management will be conducted over a longer duration but in fewer test centres this year, a top executive of the US firm that has the contract to organise the computerised test said.

"The test will be held over a longer test window of about 20 days in 33 cities this year," Prometric India MD Soumitra Roy told ET. Last year, CAT was held over 10 days and was later extended by three days due to technical glitches.

Since the duration of the test will be longer, the number of centres in which it will be conducted will come down, he said. The announcement of test centres is expected to be made in September.

Meanwhile, Prometric, that got the five-year contract to conduct computerised entrance test has changed its local partner after major glitches in CAT 2009. Prometric has tied up with two local firms — MeritTrac Services and Everonn — to conduct the entrance exam this year, discontinuing its association with NIIT.